General-Purpose Optimization Through Information Maximization

Introduction.- Review of Optimization Methods.- Functional Analysis of Optimization.- A Unified View of Population-Based Optimizers.- Continuity of Optimizers.- The Optimization Process.- Performance Analysis.- Performance Experiments.- No Free Lunch Does Not Prevent General Optimization.- The Geometry of Optimization and the Optimization Game.- The Evolutionary Annealing Method.- Evolutionary Annealing In Euclidean Space.- Neuroannealing.- Discussion and Future Work.- Conclusion.- App. A, Performance Experiment Results.- App. B, Automated Currency Exchange Trading.